Monday 30 November 2009

Ships of the desert

Vi har hatt en fin uke. De siste dagene har vi hatt fri fra jobben, og det passet jo bra siden vi har besøk av Molly ofg Keith. Under den engelske teksten kan dere lese om kamelene som kalles "Ships of the Desert".

English text below the pictures

Molly and Keith enjoying a beer at the Inland Sea - after 45 minutes drive through the desert.


Molly and Keith at the Sealine.


Keith Molly and Nigel by the Arabian Gulf.


Molly ved "Inland Sea". Saudi Arabia kan skimtes i det fjerne.
Molly at the Inland Sea. Saudi Arabia is in the background.


Dromedarene kan lukke nesen for å unngå å få sand i nesen.
The dromedary can close their nose to keep the sand out.


The Arabian, or dromedary.


Inger Marie from the Accounting Center, Sunndal is leaving Qatalum after 1 year.
Inger Marie's good bye party at Qatalum - she has been here for 1 year.

English text
Camels are known as the "ships of the desert." They can glide across desert sands with ease, and provide one of the most important modes of transportation for people in desert areas. Dromedary camels can travel at speeds of up to 8 to 10 miles per hour for up to 18 hours! Bactrian camels are slower, travelling at speeds of around 5 miles per hour. But they can maintain this speed for longer periods of time over great distances (about 30 miles a day), and can carry extremely heavy loads (equivalent to 8 large suitcases!) in the process.

There are two kinds of camels. The first, known as an Arabian, or dromedary, camel, has a single hump on its back. The other, known as a Bactrian camel, has two humps.

Bactrian camels live only in the Gobi desert of Mongolia where it gets extremely cold. Domesticated Bactrian camels may be found in Afghanistan, Turkey, the Soviet Union, Iran, and China. Nearly all dromedary camels are domesticated, and live in northern Africa, Australia, and central Asia.

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